The New York Rangers' season to forget ended on a high note. On Wednesday night, the Rangers defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Tye Kartye scored two goals, while Gabe Perreault and Mika Zibanejad hit the back of the net once each. Then, there was an impressive performance by rookie goaltender Dylan Garand, who stopped 29-of-31 shots faced.
While the season won't be looked back on too fondly by fans, the team did become devoted to their youth movement. While there was criticisms about the team's development of prospects, the few they called up shined late in the season, providing some hope for the future.
After the game, Zibanejad was asked by The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano about the season. While the star said that the season was disappointing, he did say that the younger players have shown promise and they have motivated the veteran players.
The younger guys have shown real promise and have been giving us older guys a little bit more energy," said Zibanejad, h/t Mercogliano. "It's been fun to watch it… There's a lot of good things — and I think a lot of things that you could be looking forward to and be optimistic about. Obviously, we have some work to do, but you have to try to somehow get something positive out of it. Because it would have been miserable the last few weeks if we couldn't find something, so at least that's something. I know it's not good enough and it doesn't get us to playoffs, but you always have a choice of how you look at things. There's definitely some positives to take out of it."
Mika Zibanejad credits younger player for providing spark for Rangers veterans
The Rangers committed to their retool following a slow start to the season and lengthy injuries to goalie Igor Shesterkin and defenseman Adam Fox in January. With Artemi Panarin, Sam Carrick, and Carson Soucy all traded at the trade deadline, the Rangers committed to playing some of their young prospects.
Gabe Perreault had been around on the pro roster for the majority of this season. Credit where credit is due, they allowed Perreault to get a feel for the pro game, and he's thrived the later it got in the season. In fact, he worked his way onto the top line, and he built incredible chemistry with Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere.
Garand didn't receive too much playing time, as Jonathan Quick recovered from a late season injury and was given one last start before retiring. Garand showed in his brief playing time that he can take over the reins as the backup behind Shesterkin. In a 3-2 shootout loss to the Winnipeg Jets in his pro debut, Garand stopped 35-of-37 shots faced. Then, in a 6-1 Rangers victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, Garand stopped 29-of-31 shots faced.
Adam Sykora showed some serious potential in his late season call-up, scoring three goals and notching one assist in 11 games. He also showed promise on a line alongside fellow young players Noah Laba, and Jaroslav Chmelar. It could be a locked in bottom six line for next season.
Drew Fortescue was signed to an entry-level contract out of Boston College and his first year was used for this season. While Fortescue didn't light up the stat sheets, he has been solid defensively, with only room to grow.
All of these players have shown they can factor into the Rangers' plans entering next season. Given the lack of star power available in free agency, the Rangers may have to go with the youth movement again and build through the draft. But as Zibanejad said, the younger players have shown that the future isn't quite as bleak as fans anticipated.
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